Super Light But Filling Lunch

Guacamole + pinto beans + tomatoes scooped up with raw veggies or corn chips = yummy!

Not your typical lunch, but still great and healthy.

Guacamole:

2 avocados
1 garlic clove
sea salt
pepper
lime juice

Mix together.... and just throw some pinto or black beans on top with fresh organic tomatoes (add some cheese too if you want) and eat with good quality corn chips (watch for MSG!) or raw veggies, or Mary's Gone Crackers (these are gluten free) and enjoy!

Sauteed Chicken, Salad and Homemade Ranch Dressing!

Make a salad with whatever you have on hand/is in season (lots of veggies and good greens!)

Saute some free range chicken breast or cutlets in grapeseed oil, sea salt, pepper, dill, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and parsley, cooking several minutes on each side. Serve cooled chicken over your fresh salad and top with this homemade dressing:

Homemade Ranch Dressing:

1 1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil Veganaise
3 Tablespoons organic almond milk
1/2 Teaspoon Parsley
1/4 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Dill
1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Chives
1/4 Teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Teaspoon San-J Tamari Sauce (wheat free, organic)
1/4 Teaspoon of lemon juice
About an 1/8 tsp stevia

Wisk together and refrigerate for a while before serving.

Pecan Crusted Cod

4-6 wild caught cod fillets (Alaskan is great)
1 cup or so of ground pecans (walnuts would probably work ok too)
1 cup coconut flour
raw honey
grapeseed oil

pour some raw honey in a dish and add a small amount of water. In a separate dish, mix nuts and flour. Place cod fillets in honey, then in nut mixture and cover as best you can using your fingers to "smoosh" the nuts on the fish.
Heat a skillet over medium heat with grapeseed oil covering the bottom. Place cod fillets in heated oil and fry on each side for a few minutes.

Once served, drizzle your piece of fish with raw honey and enjoy!

Sauteed Zucchini:

Enjoy your in season zucchini with this super easy recipe. Chop zucchini, and saute in grapeseed oil, sea salt, pepper and turmeric. Yum!

Salmon Marinade

This marinade was so good, I plan to try it with chicken drumsticks!

4 wild caught Alaskan salmon fillets
4 tbsps sucanat
4 tbsps balsamic vinegar
2 tbsps grapeseed oil
2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tsps garlic powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp sea salt

Mix ingredients together and pour over salmon. Marinade in fridge for 30 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, using a turkey baster to keep the sauce on the fish. :)

Farmer's Market Soup

A detox my hubby is on plus a trip to the farmer's market equals this soup :)

3-4 cups navy beans soaked overnight in water
2 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 organic tomatoes, chopped
one bunch green onions, chopped
3 organic celery stalks, chopped
1/2 kohlrabi, skinned and chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup organic tomato puree
sea salt
basil
garlic powder
onion powder

Mix everything together in your stock pot or crock pot and cook for several hours until the beans are cooked. :)

These are a few of my favorite things.....

Changing ingredients in recipes to make them healthier can be tricky. Here are some of my favorite healthier alternatives:

White sugar- My favorite thing to use in place of it is Xylitol (same amount as the sugar & make sure you get a brand that is not chemically processed! Xylitol made from birch tree is super great! We like the brand Globalsweet) or raw honey (slightly less than the sugar)

Canola oil- grapeseed oil or coconut oil

Shortening- coconut oil

Margarine or vegetable spread- real butter

Brown sugar- sucanat

Soy sauce- San-J wheat free Tamari

Mayo- grapeseed oil veganaise

Enriched white flour- whole wheat flour or coconut flour

White rice- brown rice or quinoa

Chocolate for eating or baking- 60% cocoa dark chocolate

Soda- Zevia stevia sweetened soda

We've made a lot of changes in the last year. What changes are you making?

Chicken Soup For Your Soul!

10 free range organic chicken drumsticks
1 bag organic carrots, chopped
6 celery stalks, chopped
1 onion, chopped
frozen peas and corn
4 cups organic free range chicken broth
3-4 cups water
sea salt
pepper
garlic and onion powder

Place everything in your crock pot and cook on low all day. Once cooked, remove chicken and remove meat. Place meat back into crock pot. Season and serve. :)
My husband requests this soup every time he is sick. :)

Organic or Not Organic?

Ever wonder what you should buy organic and what you can get away with not buying organic? Read this article:

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/01/dirty-dozen-produce-carries-more-pesticide-residue-group-says/?iref=allsearch

Break Time

Taking a break from posts... busy with my babies :)

They'll come here and there but not often. But only for a little while. :)

Bummed Over Braggs

I have recently read some valuable information about Braggs Liquid Aminos. My hubby read it as well, and we've agreed to try something else. We still use other Braggs products, however.
Read the article for yourself, and be sure to read the links too. Make an informed decision for yourself, although I will be removing it from my recipes and my fridge! I'll keep you posted as I find a similar product I like which does NOT contain any hidden MSG's!

Read here:
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2009/09/choosing-a-natural-soy-sauce-why-braggs-liquid-aminos-is-not-it.html

A New Favorite Treat of Ours

We had this for the first time yesterday. It was amazing. Need a treat once in a while? Try Coconut Bliss 'Ice Cream'!!! It's made with coconut milk and is all organic. Try it! YUM!

http://www.coconutbliss.com/

:)

More on Agave Syrup...

OK, so I am hearing more and more about this controversial sweetener. My understand is, that when this was first introduced, it was in fact a good alternative to table sugar. However, it became popular so fast that a lot of companies make it highly processed now- why not more and faster is best right? BUT I have heard that there still are some makers of agave with integrity. So- here's my suggestion if you love your agave: call the companies. Ask them if it's truly raw organic agave syrup or if it's processed. Not that hard right? The brand I used to use, Wholesome, is to my knowledge one of the companies that makes it highly processed.

I liked this article too:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/is-agave-good-or-bad/

And this goes for any product. If you buy Kashi crackers and you're questioning the canola oil... call them and ask about it! Better to know for sure what is in our food then to ignore or even deny ourselves of it if it's fine in the long run.

Just a journey... I learn something new every day. :)

Smothered Chicken

Kind of like a fajita, but without the tortilla!

4 free range organic chicken breasts

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 red cayenne pepper

1 tbsp organic butter

1-2 colored pepper, sliced

1-2 onion, sliced

sliced fresh organic mushrooms

1/2 cup shredded organic raw mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded organic raw cheddar cheese

Drizzle some grapeseed oil in your pan, add chicken. Sprinkle with spices, cook on medium heat 8-10 minutes, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet, keep warm.

Melt butter in same skillet over medium heat. Cook pepper and onion in butter for about 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms. Cook 3-5 minutes. Place chicken in skillet, and cover with veggies. Sprinkle cheeses on top, cover, and let stand until cheese is melted.

Oatmeal Cookies

Delicious and soft oatmeal cookies! Our favorite combo is with cinnamon and raisins. :)

3 sticks softened organic butter

1 cup xylitol plus 2 tsps molasses, mixed

1/2 cup xylitol

2 organic free range eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups whole wheat flour

4 1/2 cups organic rolled oats (I didn't have enough and used half rolled and half steel cut oats and it was fine)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Add ins: 60% cocoa baking chips, organic raisins, dried fruits (check for added sugar and icky oils), chopped nuts, cinnamon, etc.

Preheat oven to 325-350 degrees (my oven here is like super oven so you decide)

Beat butter until fluffy, add sucanat and honey. Then eggs and vanilla. Add flour, salt and baking soda. Stir in rolled oats and extra mix ins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet (grapeseed oil) and press down gently. Bake for about 8-12 minutes and you may want to switch the baking sheets half way through. Enjoy!

Healthy Baked Ziti

Everyone loves Italian!

1 box whole wheat ziti (or whatever really)

1 lb free range beef

1 onion, minced

4+ cloves of fresh garlic

Tomato sauce, homemade or bought (Muir Glen is a great brand)

1 small tub of organic ricotta or cottage cheese

About 3 cups shredded raw mozzarella cheese

Italian seasonings

pepper

sea salt

Basil

Garlic powder

Boil pasta according to package. Drizzle some grapeseed oil in a pan and saute chopped onions and garlic. Add beef and season with spices (don't be shy!). Cook until done and remove from heat. In a baking dish, add cooked meat and pasta, ricotta or cottage cheese, tomato sauce and mix well. Spread mozz on top and bake at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. Mmm!

Amazing Avocado

If you don't eat avocado, you should! Avocados are so full of nutrition and healthy fats that we all need. Avocado was one of my daughter's first meals! And, if money is tight for you, avocado is one of those food items that can be bought non-organic because of it's thick shell.

So I am trying to eat more of it. For myself and for the baby. I can handle eating it with just some sea salt on it, but love to try different things for variety. So here are a few creative ways to get in your avocado. If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them! Comment!

1. Sliced with sea salt (add some salsa too if you want)

2. Guacamole, everyone loves that right?

3. On a sandwhich with turkey breast and tomato or turkey bacon, lettuce and tomato on wheat bread

4. Mixed with homemade refried beans (basically just smashed pinto beans and water) with brown rice and salt

5. Mashed and added to egg salad (see above picture)

Do you have any ideas?

Baked Chicken

Don't have a lot of time to prep or make a meal? Try this chicken. It takes 5 minutes to prep.

Organic free range chicken leg quarters (I prefer to remove the skin)
drizzle with grapeseed oil
season generously with pepper, sea salt, paprika, garlic salt or powder and parsley.
Bake for about 30-45 minutes on 375 degrees. Easy and delish. My favorite combination. :)

Ditch The Taco Seasoning

No need for packaged seasonings. Next time you make some tacos, try using these spices instead!

cumin
chili powder
sea salt
black pepper
coriander
paprika
turmeric
garlic powder
red cayenne pepper

Just add what you like (don't be shy) and add some water or grapeseed oil to your uncooked meat. Brown meat like normal. Now you are MSG free! Tastes even better with diced peppers and onion!!

Homemade Frozen Yogurt

Try making your own frozen yogurt for a special dessert treat! Super easy.

All you need is:

one small bag of frozen fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, peaches, etc. (organic)
and one tub of organic cream top (whole milk) vanilla yogurt (I used Stoneyfield Farms)

Blend the two until mixed in your blender then put back into the yogurt tub. Needs to freeze for several hours. And once frozen solid, you may need to take it out and let sit on the counter for a few minutes in order to scoop some out! Yum :)

*You could also use plain yogurt and sweeten it yourself with honey or stevia, etc.

Vegetarian Soup

Threw this together the other night with a few things I had on hand. Liked it. :)

1 cup raw organic kidney beans, soaked 24 hours in advance

2 cups vegetable broth

1 small can of organic tomato paste

Tomato paste can filled with water 4x

1 organic tomato, chopped

1 onion chopped

1 zucchini chopped

3-4 celery stalks chopped

crushed garlic (as much as you want)

one bunch organic kale, washed well and torn into pieces

sea salt

pepper

basil

garlic powder

(about a tsp or two of each)

Just throw everything in your pot except kale. Cover and simmer on a low boil for at least an hour so the beans will cook through. Add kale towards the end so it doesn't get soggy.

Great with some crusty bread or rolls. (Whole wheat bread recipe here)